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REVIEW: Slashback by Rob Thurman

Cal and Niko Leandros have dealt with monsters and killers in their line of work. But when they were younger they encountered a human killer, a serial-killer. Now twelve years later, a killer with a perchance for skinning his victims has arrived in New York and seems to have a fascination with the Leandros brothers.

I really enjoyed this book – I always feel like returning to the Cal Leandros series is like returning home – a home full of violence and monsters. It’s a world I know well and it’s comforting and easy being around familiar characters.

The action and fight scenes are so well written you can see everything play out in your head like a film. Cal is still his cocky self but there is a slight worry that he isn’t quite half monster/half human anymore and the monster side is taking over – it adds a nice subplot to the main action.

The flashbacks to Cal and Niko’s childhood were great as you see a defining moment in their lives that shaped them into who they are as adults. You see Niko’s protectiveness and how and why he is so in control all the time and then seeing him lose that control is really quite shocking and unnerving.

Naturally I got a lot of emotions about Robin Goodfellow (the guy’s one of my favourite characters ever) – especially the last chapter and I love how that opens things up for other books in the series and the characters themselves.

Slashback is fast-paced, fun and violent. Considering it’s the ninth book in this series it still manages to keep things fresh and interesting and show different sides to characters you think you know. 4/5.